rod blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich
Summary (posts follow):
Former Illinois governor, arrested on December 9, 2008 for allegedly trying to sell the Senate seat of Barack Obama to the highest bidder. On June 27, 2011, Blagojevich was convicted on 17 corruption-related counts, including trying to sell Obama's seat.
None of that should come as much of a surprise due to the level of corruption in Illinois and also due to "Blago"'s strong past support for illegal immigration. That went as far as giving illegal aliens a better deal than veterans and supporting illegal aliens marching through Chicago at events organized by those linked to the Mexican government.
Blagojevich spoke at the March 10 Chicago march (Thousands Flood Loop In Protest)
He appointed members of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights to the Illinois state New Americans Immigrant Policy Council. The president of the ICIRR (Juan Salgado) is linked to the Mexican government.
See also: Feds probe gift to governor, Immigration What's Next, Governor meeting just before extortion attempt, and Feds probe real estate deals.
Affiliation: Democratic Party
Last modified Jun 27, 2011
Discussed in (click each link for the full post):
Rod Blagojevich to write tell-all book "The Governor" - 03/02/09
Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich is writing a tell-all tome for Phoenix Books (link). Tentatively titled "The Governor", he's reportedly received a six-figure advance. If it's really a tell-all, he'll probably have to spend half of that on bodyguards:
Mr. Blagojevich’s book will cover the governor’s downfall directly, a news release from Mr. Selig’s agency said, and offer Mr. Blagojevich’s versions of events, “the discussions, the considerations and the factors involved,” as he pondered the Senate appointment.
The former governor intends to expose “the dark side of politics” that he...
"Dear Rod": form letter from Obama to Blagojevich - 01/06/09
Judicial Watch has obtained two letters sent to Rod Blagojevich; one from Barack Obama himself, the other from his transition team. PDFs at that link.
Unfortunately, both appear to be form letters sent out after the National Governors Association on December 2, 2008 in Philadelphia. The one from Obama pawns off all contact on Nick Rathod. The other letter is from Valerie Jarrett, John Podesta, and Pete Rouse, and likewise pawns off contact on others in case Blago wanted to "share thoughts". Whether similar letters were sent to other governors isn't known.
The only three things that seem like...
Obama transition releases report on staff contacts with Rod Blagojevich - 12/23/08
The Politburo no doubt had internal investigations, and so too does the incoming Barack Obama administration. They've just released a five-page PDF completely clearing everyone of everything; cached copy here. It includes the news that Obama was interviewed as part of the investigation:
These accounts were communicated to the Office of the United States Attorney in interviews that were conducted last week. At the request of the Office, we delayed the release of this report until such time as the interviews could be completed. The interviews took place over a period of three days: Thursday,...
Sun-Times: Rahm Emanuel had direct contact with Blagojevich over Senate seat - 12/18/08
From Natasha Korecki comes this:
President-elect Barack Obama's incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had a deeper involvement in pressing for a U.S. Senate seat appointment than previously reported, the Sun-Times has learned. Emanuel had direct discussions about the seat with Gov. Blagojevich, who is is accused of trying to auction it to the highest bidder.
Emanuel talked with the governor in the days following the Nov. 4 election and pressed early on for the appointment of Valerie Jarrett to the post, sources with knowledge of the conversations told the Sun-Times. There was no indication...
Obama/Blago picture deleted from Illinois state website - 12/15/08
Remember the picture of Barack Obama "conferring" with recently-arrested Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich? If not, see this 12/10 post.
Illinois Governor's Gazette: homepage and Version 2 - 12/15/08
The following two documents were originally located at illinois.gov/govgazette/ and at illinois.gov/govgazette/pdfs/Gazetteedition_2008Nov_2.pdf. Those two were basically the same, and that entire document tree was deleted. Both documents were retrieved from Google's cache. They don't appear to contain anything noteworthy, but neither cached document had whatever photos were in the original. The govgazette document tree doesn't appear to be in archive.org's cache.
illinois.gov/govgazette/pdfs/Gazetteedition_2008Nov_2.pdf
KHQA pulls 11/5 article on Obama meeting with Blagojevich (cached copy) - 12/10/08
On November 5, Iowa/Illinois/Missouri TV station KHQA published "Who will fill Obama's senate seat?", which said that Barack Obama would be meeting with recently-arrested Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich on the afternoon of 11/5. It was previously at this link, but that now says it's "unavailable".
Photo: Barack Obama and Rod Blagojevich confer about Senate replacement - 12/10/08
[UPDATE: The state of Illinois has deleted the PDF containing this picture; see the link for some cached copies of the Gazette documents.]
From the "Governor's Gazette" - an Illinois state publication - dated November 12, 2008 comes the following undated photo of Barack Obama speaking privately with recently-arrested IL governor Rod Blagojevich. It could conceivably have taken place months before and in relation to something else, but there's a very good chance it was taken sometime just after Obama was elected. A screengrab of the first page of the Gazette is here. The PDF of the Gazette is...
Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich arrested by FBI on federal corruption charges; accused of trying to sell Obama's senate seat - 12/09/08
Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich - aka "Blago" - and his chief of staff have been arrested for trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat. And, Barack Obama - or at least his advisor Valerie Jarrett - probably knew what he was doing; see the "SEIU Official" paragraph below. And, Obama may have lied about his recent conversations with Blago; see the first update. Uh-oh: Obama might be more worried about this than it would at first appear; see the second update.
From a U.S. Department of Justice press release (usdoj.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2008/pr1209_01.pdf, text version here):
Illinois Gov...
FactCheck looks, can't find "Chicago Way" (McCain Obama ad) - 09/23/08
Viveca Novak and Justin Bank of Fact Check offer "Guilt and Associations/McCain once again tries to tar Obama with the controversies of others" about the John McCain ad "Chicago Machine" (factcheck.org/elections-2008/guilt_and_associations.html). The ad links Barack Obama to William Daley, Emil Jones, Tony Rezko, Rod Blagojevich. Per them, the first isn't dirty, the second is only a little dirty, and there's no evidence that BHO was involved in any funny business with the last two.
Immigration march organizers have foreign links - 08/15/08
1. One of the organizers of the March 24 Georgia boycott was Teodoro Maus, a former Mexican consul general. He was also one of the organizers of the October 7 Atlanta march. That march was led by GA state Senator Sam Zamarripa and GA state representative Pedro Marin, both members of the Democratic Party.
Influence on both sides of the border - 07/03/08
"Influence on both sides of the border/Activists' political power is rising in Chicago and their homeland, as they seek reforms through marches and money"/Antonio Olivo and Oscar Avila/Chicago Tribune/[[April 6, 2007]]/ li
Felipe Calderon Feb. 2008 U.S. visit: Eliot Spitzer, Blagojevich, Schwarzenegger, Villaraigosa, Fabian Nunez - 02/09/08
Mexico's president Felipe Calderon will be visiting parts of their former territory next week, stopping in New York, Boston, Chicago, Sacramento, and Los Angeles but apparently avoiding Washington DC.
In addition to U.S. officials, and some who are supposedly U.S. officials, he'll probably also be meeting with community leaders, such as those from non-profits, "hometown associations", the leaders of his PAN party who operate inside the U.S., and the like. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find a listing, but if anyone could leave information in comments that would be quite helpful.
In...
Illinois gov. Rod Blagojevich now part of FBI's "pay-to-play" corruption investigation - 12/22/07
From this:
Federal prosecutors for the first time brought their corruption investigation to the desk of Gov.
Felipe Calderon explicitly wants Mexican consuls to meddle in U.S. immigration debate (non-profits) - 12/07/07
The only thing shocking about this is that he'd openly admit it:
[Today, Mexican president Felipe Calderon] asked his diplomatic representatives in the U.S. to participate in the public debate on immigration by appearing at public events, talking more to the media and working with nonprofit groups to promote Mexican immigrants' role in supporting the U.S. economy.
"The key is to neutralize this strategy of confrontation and discrimination that forms part of U.S. society's mistaken perception, and be able to newly focus arguments on the complimentary aspects of our economies," he said [to...
Feds probe real estate deals - 12/07/07
Chicago Tribune/David Kidwell, Jeff Coen, Ray Long/[[December 7, 2007]]/ link
Federal agents are investigating real estate deals involving Gov. Rod Blagojevich's wife as part of a three-year corruption probe into allegations of favoritism and fraud within his administration.
AP Exclusive: Governor meeting just before extortion attempt - 12/07/07
Associated Press/[[December 6, 2007]]/ link
An Associated Press review shows that Governor Rod Blagojevich met with a Democratic fundraiser who weeks later attempted to shake down a firm seeking state business.
March 10 Chicago march - 10/11/07
Organized by the March 10 Committee. One of the leaders of that committee is Jorge Mujica, an official with Mexico's PRD party.
Those speaking at the event included U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.
Pueblo Sin Fronteras - 10/03/07
From their site somosunpueblo.com: "Our campaign has the support of the Governor of Illinois (Rod Blagojevich) and a broad base of Illinois elected officials, religious and civic leaders. We have made a campaign so that the nation might know that the "immigration debate" is about real, human families, and their struggle to stay together."
Executive director is Emma Lozano.
Immigration activist living at church sends son to L.A. conference
DOJ sues Illinois over statewide sanctuary policy (Blagojevich) - 09/24/07
From a U.S. Department of Justice press release [1]:
The Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit in federal district court seeking to invalidate an Illinois state law that attempts to prevent employers from using DHS's E-Verify system, which allows them to check in real-time whether new hires are authorized to work in the United States. The lawsuit seeks a declaration that a law passed earlier this year by the Illinois legislature and signed by the Governor (Rod Blagojevich) that prohibits employers from enrolling in the Department's E-Verify system is invalid.
"E-verify or the Basic...
Rod Blagojevich, Luis Gutierrez, and the alleged FALN terrorist - 09/08/07
From this:
A high-ranking official in Gov. [Rod Blagojevich]'s office spent nearly two years in a federal prison for refusing to aid a government terrorism probe into a series of bombings in Chicago and New York City.
Steven Guerra, Blagojevich's $120,000-a-year deputy chief of staff for community services, was identified by federal prosecutors as a member of the Puerto Rican separatist group, FALN, which was behind a wave of violence and killings in the 1970s and early 1980s...
Gov. Blagojevich's office said Guerra disclosed his felony conviction to the administration before his 2003...
Media alert: Elvira Arellano has left the sanctuary (L.A., DC on tour) - 08/17/07
Elvira Arellano - the illegal alien who was ordered to be deported after being convicted of using a false Social Security number and who's been holed up in a Chicago church for a year and who's only a sympathetic figure to those on the far-left - has left her "sanctuary" and is currently on a road trip.
Esther J. Cepeda: towns enforcing immigration laws could lead to "neighborhood lynchings" - 07/05/07
The column here ("Beginning of the end?/Towns across America are taking illegal immigration control into their own hands a
Senate immigration amnesty bill: the downsides - 05/23/07
The concept of amnesty is bad, and almost everything in the Senate's illegal immigration amnesty bill is bad as well. It's fairly obvious to just about everyone that this is an extremely flawed piece of legislation, so what I'd suggest is using it to further discredit its supporters. However, please don't lose sight of the forest: we need to stop amnesty in general, not just this particular piece of legislation. You can do that by following these steps.
There's a top ten list in "Rewarding Illegal Aliens: Senate Bill Undermines The Rule of Law".
There are seven more reasons here, including...
Illinois House approves driver's licenses for illegal aliens - 03/28/07
The Illinois House approved HR 1100 earlier today, which would give illegal aliens "driving certificates" which supposedly would (link to text):
clearly state on its face that it may not be accepted by any federal agency for any federal identification or other official purpose...
New Americans Immigrant Policy Council (Illinois) - 03/20/07
Created by Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich by an Executive Order on [[November 19, 2005]]. link
Their report was issued around [[December 13, 2006]], and it resulted in this [1]:
Can Barack Obama answer this? - 02/25/07
Please go to Barack Obama's campaign appearances and try to ask him the question on the video (reprinted below). The media isn't going to ask politicians any difficult questions, so it's up to us to do it.
Juan Salgado letter to Vicente Fox - 02/22/07
The following letter was sent by Juan Salgado - president of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights - to Mexican president [[Vicente Fox]]. URL: www.ime.gob.mx/ccime/discursos/js7.htm
Will Rod Blagojevich pro-illegal immigration scheme violate law? - 12/13/06
In November 2005, Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich - a very strong supporter of illegal immigration - created the "New Americans Immigrant Policy Council" (press release link) to come up with ways to deal with immigrants in his state. The report from the NAIPC has been released, as has a report from a similar panel. Blago has endorsed their findings, but has not committed any money. And, whether any money will be found is still to be determined.
As even the WaPo discloses ("Ill. Governor To Announce New Benefits For Immigrants" by Kari Lydersen), these benefits would be for both legal and...
ICIRR in suit against Terry Goddard over Western Union wire transfers - 10/19/06
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights ("ICIRR") is "sponsoring" a class action lawsuit against Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard over that state's program that tries to stop human smuggling by seizing Western Union wire transfers that meet certain criteria. ICIRR is "sponsoring" three nobody plaintiffs - at least one of whom is a legal resident - who had money seized and couldn't get it back because they couldn't prove that the transfers were legitimate. The attorney is Matt Piers; another attorney who may have just filed the papers is Tim Eckstein (azstar).
As detailed...
Thousands Flood Loop In Protest - 10/07/06
[[WMAQ]]/[[March 10, 2006]]/ link
Reports on the March 10 Chicago march
...Rep. Luis Gutierrez told the crowd that immigrants are here to stay. And the Illinois Democrat pledged to work to block a controversial bill that would drastically strengthen immigration laws.
"Shut the Senate down until you get the voice of immigrants who work so hard," said Rep. Luis Gutierrez.
Immigration: What's next? - 10/07/06
Kristin Markway/Medill News Service(in the NWITimes)/[[October 1, 2006]]/ link
Immigration experts from across the nation met Wednesday ([[September 27, 2006]]) in Chicago and praised Illinois as one of the "most progressive" states for immigration policies.
However, they said, there are serious problems with other state and national immigration laws.
The Case of Elvira Arellano - 10/07/06
Lee Sustar/Socialist Worker (also in Counterpunch)//[[August 31, 2006]]/ link
...A given day (at the church where she's holed up) might see elected officials, diplomats from the Venezuelan consulate, journalists from the New York Times or European national radio services, or representatives of the Latino and left-wing press.
Feds probe gift to governor - 10/07/06
Chicago Tribune/David Kidwell and John Chase/September 10 2006/ link
The FBI is investigating allegations by the wife of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's former campaign treasurer that her state job may have come in return for a $1,500 personal check her husband wrote to one of Blagojevich's children.
FBI probes Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich; hiring kickback? - 09/12/06
From this:
The FBI is investigating allegations by the wife of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's former campaign treasurer that her state job may have come in return for a $1,500 personal check her husband wrote to one of Blagojevich's children.
The inquiry is the first public indication that Blagojevich and his personal finances are under federal scrutiny as part of a sweeping criminal probe of political hiring in his administration...
...Beverly Ascaridis, who has already been identified in an internal state probe as receiving special treatment to get her job, confirmed federal agents interviewed...
Chicago illegal immigration march organizer is PRD official - 07/20/06
One of the organizers of the March 10 illegal immigration march in Chicago is an official with Mexico's PRD Party. Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, and mayor Richard M. Daley all attended and spoke at that rally.
March 10 Committee (illegal alien rally) want immediate citizenship for all - 05/23/06
The March 10 Committee organized the big Chicago rally in favor of illegal immigration.
Chicago immigration "debate": ICIRR pulls out; far-lefties go nuts - 05/05/06
An immigration "debate" was scheduled in Chicago yesterday, to feature the local Minuteman Project chapter squaring off against the Blagojevich-linked Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
The "Immigrant" Rights Movement - 04/30/06
Did you know there's a growing "Immigrant" Rights Movement? Of course, most Americans will refer to that "movement" as "foreign citizens who are here illegally marching in our streets making a show of force and demanding rights to which they aren't entitled", but many news/propaganda organizations seem to prefer the first term. And, not just because it's shorter but - of course - because it's highly misleading.
There are currently hundreds of articles in Google News that use the titular phrase.
Links between the Democratic Party and the Mexican government - 04/22/06
Many Democratic politicians and pundits supported the recent illegal immigration marches, and some Democratic politicians appeared at some of the rallies or even helped organize some of them.
And, some other organizers of the rallies have various kinds of links to the government of Mexico.
While that's not enough to claim that the Democratic Party has direct links to the Mexican government, they are clearly part of the same network. And, that should be disturbing to the millions of more moderate members of that party.
Here are the current known links: